1270s
The 1270s is the decade starting January 1, 1270, and ending December 31, 1279. In Europe, power struggles within the Holy Roman Empire escalated into civil war as the 23-year interregnum without an emperor came to an end. Election of Rudolph I of Germany as King of Germany over Otakar II of Bohemia in 1273 led to open war in 1276 and Otakar's death in 1278 at the climactic Battle of Marchfeld. The resultant power structure in central Europe firmly established the Habsburg dynasty's rule, one that would continue Austria and other reginal territories until the end of World War I in 1918. On the British Isles, King Edward I of England returned from the Eighth Crusade to take the throne and was able to subjugate Wales by the end of the decade; Scotland quelled an uprising on the Isle of Man, in doing so confirming the concession of that territory made in 1266 by Norway in the Treaty of Perth. The Statutes of Westminster established a series of individuals' rights in England. Both the Eighth Crusade and Ninth Crusade were brief efforts that quickly ended in failure, with King Louis IX of France dying during the former. The Mongol Empire continued its expansion to the east, conquering the Song Dynasty of China by the end of the decade and subjugating most of continental Asia. The conquest of China witnessed the first use of firearms in war. Kublai Khan moved his capital to present-day Beijing and renamed his empire the Yuan Dynasty, reflecting the new eastward focus of the empire. The western Ilkhanate established a capital at Tabriz, in present-day Iran. The Mongols were able to quell the Sambyeolcho Rebellion in Korea and defeat the Nakhi and Pagan Empires, but failed an attempted invasion of Japan in 1274. Marco Polo reached Kublai Khan's summer court by 1275, and stayed with the court for over 20 years. The Mamluk sultanate of Egypt continued to expand its territory and dodge two crusades -- the Eighth Crusade never reached its intended target, and the Ninth rapidly became a failure. The sultan Baibars was successful in expanding his territory as far north as the Sultanate of Rüm in Anatolia, east into Syria, and south into Makurian Nubia. After Baibars died in 1277, his successor Qalawun continued expansionist policies. European culture witnessed the arrival of several important scientific works in translation from centuries-old Arabic sources, including Alhazen's work on optics and Al-Razi's medical works. The two major surveys of the English census known as the Hundred Rolls were conducted. Thomas Aquinas completed his seminal work Summa Theologica late in 1273, and died in 1274. Leadership of the Catholic Church attempted to address the East-West Schism of the church through the Second Council of Lyons, but despite apparent success the effort was ultimately doomed to fail. In Japan, Nichiren continued to lead a life that would come to be revered in Nichiren Buddhism. In North America, a severe 23-year drought began in the Grand Canyon area, which would eventually force the local Anasazi people to emigrate from the region. War and politics Europe War and peace *1271 - July 2 - Kings Otakar II of Bohemia and Stephen V of Hungary sign the first Peace of Pressburg, settling territorial claims following the failed invasion of Hungary by Otakar II. *1272 - Charles I of Anjou, King of Naples, occupies Durres in Albania and establishes an Albanian kingdom. *1272 - King Alphonso III of Portugal eliminates the last Moorish community in Portugal at Faro. *1273 - September 29 - Rudolph I of Germany is elected King of Germany over rival candidate King Otakar II of Bohemia, ending the Interregnum; Otakar refuses to acknowledge Rudolph as the new king, leading to the outbreak of war in 1276. Rudolph is the first of many Habsburgs to hold the throne. *1273 - King Otakar II of Bohemia captures Bratislava from Hungary. *1274 - November - The diet at Nuremberg orders that all crown estates seized since the death of Frederick II be restored to Rudolph I of Germany; almost all European rulers agree, with the notable exception of King Otakar II of Bohemia, who had benefited greatly by conquering or otherwise coming into possession of many of those lands. *1275 - Eleanor de Montfort is captured by pirates in the employ of Edward I of England to prevent her marriage to Llywelyn the Last, prince of Wales; she is used as a bargaining chip over the coming years in Edward's attempts to subjugate Llywelyn and Wales. *1275 - Scottish forces defeat the Manx of the Isle of Man in a decisive battle, firmly establishing Scottish rule of the island. *1276 - June - King Rudolph I of Germany declares war on King Otakar II of Bohemia, a political rival; by November, Otakar II is forced to cede four important territories as demanded by the diet of Nuremberg in 1274. *1276 - Four different men are pope over the course of the year, as Popes Gregory X, Innocent V, and Adrian V all die in quick succession. *1277 - Llywelyn ap Gruffyd is subdued by King Edward I of England in the First Welsh War. *1278 - August 26 - Kings Rudolph I of Germany and Ladislaus IV of Hungary defeat King Otakar II of Bohemia in the Battle of Marchfield, a match of over 80,000 men and the largest battle of knights in the Middle Ages. The battle ends a power struggle between Rudolph and Otakar over the fate of central Europe, and Rudolph's Habsburg family will continue to rule Austria and other captured territories until the end of World War I in 1918. Political entities *1271 - The County of Toulouse passes to the French crown via the Treaty of Languedoc. *1272 - The city of Strasbourg becomes an Imperial Free City of the Holy Roman Empire. *1276 - March 9 - Augsburg becomes an Imperial Free City. Ravensburg also does in the same year. *1278 - The independence, boundaries, and political structure of Andorra are agreed to by the Spanish Bishop of Urgell and the French Count of Foix. Political reform *1271 - September 1 - Pope Gregory X is elected pope by compromise between French and Italian cardinals, ending a three-year conclave, the longest ever. *1274 - Pope Gregory X decrees that conclaves (meetings during which the electors have no contact with the outside) should be used for papal elections, reforming the electoral process which had taken over three years to elect him. *1275 - April 22 - The first of the Statutes of Westminster are passed by the English parliament, establishing a series of laws in its 51 clauses, including equal treatment of rich and poor, free and fair elections, and definition of bailable and non-bailable offenses. *1279 - The first of the Statutes of Mortmain are passed under king Edward I of England, which prevents land from passing into possession of the church. Asia and Africa Mongol Empire sphere of influence *1270 - In Korea, the Sambyeolcho Rebellion begins against the Goryeo Dynasty, a puppet government of the Mongol Empire. *1270 - The city of Tabriz, in present-day Iran, is made capital of the Mongol Ilkhanate empire (approximate date). *1271 - Mongol Golden Horde raid against Bulgaria. *1271 - December 18 - Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuan2), officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China. *1271 - The Nakhi kingdom of the northern Himalayan foothills is annexed by the Mongol Empire's Yuan Dynasty. *1273 - January 31 - The six-year long battle of Xiangyang ends as commander of the Song Dynasty's forces surrender to Kublai Khan. The battle is the first in which firearms are used in combat. *1273 - In Korea, the Sambyeolcho Rebellion against the Goryeo Dynasty (a puppet government of the Mongol Empire) ends as rebel forces are defeated by combined Mongol and Goryeo forces. *1274 - Mongol Golden Horde raid against Bulgaria. *1274 - November 20 - The Mongol Empire attempts the first of several invasions of Japan; after the Mongols capture outlying islands, they are repulsed on the main island at the Battle of Bun'ei by amassed Japanese warriors and a strong storm which batters their forces and fleet. Credit for the storm — called a kamikaze, or divine wind — is given by the Japanese to the god Raiden. *1275 - Invading Mongol forces capture the Chinese city of Suzhou. *1275 - Marco Polo purportedly visits Xanadu, Kublai Khan's summer capital of the Mongol Empire. *1275 - The city of Kunming is made capital of the Yunnan province of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. *1275 - Mongol Golden Horde raid against Lithuania. *1276 - February - The court of the Song Dynasty of China and hundreds of thousands of its citizens flee from Hangzhou to Fujian and then Guangdong in an effort to escape an invasion by the Mongol Empire. *1277 - Burma's Pagan empire begins to disintegrate after being defeated by Kublai Khan at the Battle of Ngasaunggyan, at Yunnan near the Chinese border. *1277 - Leaders and some 50,000 citizens of the Southern Song Dynasty of China become the first recorded inhabitants of Macau, as they seek refuge from the invading Mongol Empire. *1277 - In Japan, a 20 kilometer stone wall defending the coast of Hakata Bay in Fukuoka is completed; it is built in response to the attempted invasion by the Mongol Empire in 1274. *1279 - March 19 - Kublai Khan's Mongol Yuan Dynasty defeats the Song Dynasty in the Battle of Yamen. This completes the Mongol conquest of China and exterminates the Song Dynasty. *1279 - A Mongol diplomatic party sent by Kublai Khan to Japan is killed by Japan's regent Hōjō Tokimune, leading to a second invasion attempt by the Mongols in 1281. Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt sphere of influence *1270 - The Eighth Crusade: **1270 - Before August - King Louis IX of France launches the Eighth Crusade in an attempt to recapture the crusader states from the Mamluk sultan Baibars; the opening engagement is a siege of Tunis. **1270 - August 25 - King Louis IX of France dies while besieging the city of Tunis, possibly due to poor quality drinking water. **1270 - October 30 - The siege of Tunis and the Eighth Crusade end by an agreement between Charles I of Sicily (Louis IX's brother) and the sultan of Tunis. *1270 - The ancient city of Ashkelon is captured from the crusader states and utterly destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baibars, who goes so far as to fill in its important harbor, leaving the site desolate and the city never to be rebuilt. *1271 - April 8 - Mamluk sultan Baibars continues his territorial expansion, capturing the strategically important castle Krak des Chevaliers from the Knights Hospitaller in present-day Syria. *1271 - Baibars conducts an unsuccessful siege of the city of Tripoli, and also fails in an attempted naval invasion of Cyprus. *1271 - Edward I of England and Charles of Anjou arrive in Acre, starting the Ninth Crusade against Baibars; however, they are unable to capture any territory and a peace is quickly negotiated. *1272 - Baibars invades the weakening kingdom of Makuria to the south. *1276 - Baibars conquers Al-Maris, previously part of Makuria, and annexes it into Egypt. *1277 - Baibars invades Anatolia and captures the emirates which once composed the Sultanate of Rüm. *1277 - June 1 - Baibars dies in Syria; his son Baraka Khan takes his place to become sultan of Egypt and Syria. *1279 - Mamluk sultan Baraka Khan and emir Qalawun of Egypt invade Armenia; a revolt in Egypt while they are away forces Baraka to abdicate and allows Qalawun to become sultan. South Asia *1270 - The independent state of Kutch is founded in present-day India. *1279 - The Chola Dynasty of South India falls under attacks by the Hoysala Empire and Pandyan kingdom. Africa *1270 - Yekuno Amlak overthrows the Ethiopian Zagwe dynasty, claims the throne and establishes the Solomonic dynasty. Americas *1276 - A severe 23-year drought begins to affect the Grand Canyon area, eventually forcing the agriculture-dependent Anasazi culture to migrate out of the region. Culture Science, literature, and industry *1270 - Witelo translates Alhazen's 200-year-old treatise on optics, Kitab al-Manazir, from Arabic into Latin, bringing the work to European academic circles for the first time. *1270 - The Sanskrit fables known as the Panchatantra, dating from as early as 200 BCE, are translated into Latin from a Hebrew version by John of Capua. *1271 - Marco Polo departs from Venice with his father and uncle on his famous journey to Kublai Khan's China. *1272 - The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers receives the right to regulate the leather trade in London, England. *1272 - In astronomy, the recording of the Alfonsine tables is completed. *1274 - The first main survey of the Hundred Rolls, an English census seen as a follow up to the Domesday Book completed in 1086, is begun; it lasts until 1275. *1275 - Jean de Meun completes the French allegorical work of fiction, Roman de la Rose, with a second section; the first section was written by Guillaume de Lorris in 1230. *1275 - Ramon Llull discovers diethyl ether. *c. 1275 - The verge escapement, a simple type of escapement used in clocks, is invented. *1279 - The second of two main surveys of the Hundred Rolls, an English census seen as a follow up to the Domesday Book completed in 1086, is begun; it lasts until 1280. *1279 - Al-Razi's important medical writings are translated into Latin by Faraj ben Salim some 350 years after Al-Razi's death. *1279 - The Royal Mint of England moves into the Tower of London. Art, architecture, and music *1270 - The cathedral on the Rock of Cashel in Ireland is completed. *1271 - The construction of Caerphilly Castle, the largest in Wales, is completed. *1271 - Construction of the Belaya Vezha in Belarus is begun. *1273 - The "Holy Redeemer" khachkar, believed to be one of the finest examples of the art form, is carved in Haghpat, Armenia, by Vahram. *1276 - The foundation stone of the Minoritenkirche in Vienna is laid by King Otakar II of Bohemia. Religion Christianity *1270 - December - Crucial aspects of the philosophy of Averroism (itself based on Aristotle's works) are banned by the Catholic church in a condemnation enacted by papal authority at the University of Paris. A second condemnation follows in 1277. *1273 - December 6 - Saint Thomas Aquinas quits his writing of Summa Theologica — a work considered within the Roman Catholic Church to be the paramount expression of its theology — leaving it unfinished after having a mystical experience during Mass. *1274 - May 7 - The Second Council of Lyons, held by the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church convenes to consider the conquest of the Holy Land via Crusades and address the East-West Schism with the Byzantine church. The Council eventually approves a tithe to support efforts to conquer the Holy Land from Muslims, and reaches apparent resolution of the schism which ultimately proves unsuccessful. *1275 - A purported witch is first burned to death by sentence of a judicial inquisitor in Toulouse, France. Judaism *1270 - Construction of the Old New Synagogue in Prague is completed. *1274 - King Edward I of England enforces a decree requiring all English Jews to wear yellow badges. *1278 - An edict by Pope Nicholas III requires all Jews to attend conversion sermons. Buddhism *1271 - September 12 - According to the followers of Nichiren Buddhism, the sect's founder, Nichiren, reaches a turning point known as hosshaku kempon as he discards his identity as a mortal priest and begins to reveal himself as a reincarnation of the Buddha. *1274 - Nichiren enters a voluntary exile on Mount Minobu. *1279 - October 12 - The Dai-Gohonzon, the supreme object of veneration of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, is inscribed by Nichiren. Islam *1273 - December - Followers of the recently deceased Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi establish the Sufi order of the Whirling Dervishes in the city of Konya (in present-day Turkey). *1275 - Ramon Llull establishes a school in Majorca to teach Arabic to Catholic preachers in an attempt to aid proselytizing to Moors. Zoroastrianism *1278 - The earliest known written copy of the Avesta, a collection of ancient sacred Persian Zoroastrian texts previously passed down orally, is produced. Births *1270 - Jacob ben Asher, Spanish rabbi and important religious author *c. 1270 - Zhu Shijie, famous Chinese mathematician (very approximate date) *1271 - Ghazan Khan, Mongol emperor of the Ilkhanate *1273 - November - Abulfeda, Arab historian and geographer (d. 1331) *1274 - July 11 - Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland (d. 1329) *1276 - William Wallace, Scottish patriot (approximate date; d. 1305) *1276 - Yesün Temür Khan, khan of the Mongol Empire (d. 1328) *1278 - Nicola Pisano, Italian sculptor (b. c. 1220) Deaths *1270 - August 25 - Louis IX, King of France, saint, and Crusader *c. 1270 - Nahmanides, prominent Jewish rabbi and philosopher (approximate date) *1272 - Emperor Go-Saga, emperor of Japan (b. 1220) *1273 - October - Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople (b. 1207) *1274 - March 7 - Saint Thomas Aquinas, Catholic theologian (b. 1225) *1274 - Aedh mac Felim Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht *1276 - Ahmad al-Badawi, founder of the Sufi tarika of Badawiyyah (b. 1199) *1277 - July 1 - Baibars, Mameluk sultan of Egypt (b. 1223) *1278 - August 26 - King Otakar II of Bohemia (b. c. 1230)